Stocking.



PATENTED APR. 30, 1907.

R. W. SCOTT.

STOGKIN G.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 13. 1905.

ZZJzaffda UNITE srArns PATENT ortion ROBERT W. SCOTT, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENSYLVANIA,ASSIGNOR OF ONE- IIALF TO LOUIS N. D. WILLIAMS, OF OGONTZ, PENNSYLVANIA.

STOCKING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 30, 1907.

Application filed March 13,1905. Serial No. 249,869.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ROBERT W. Soon, a citizen of the United States, residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Stockings, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to knit, at a rnlmmum expense, a practically seamless stocking, an object which I attain in the following manner, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 represents, partly in side elevation,

, and partly in section, a stocking made in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2, represents an enlarged diagram of part of the fabric at the point where the hem or welt joins the leg of the stocking Fig. 3, represents an enlarged diagram of part of the top of the hem or welt and Fig, 4 is a similar view illustrating a modification.

.The stocking shown in Fig. 1, has a shaped toe 1, a tubular foot 2, instep gussets 3, a seamless heel 4, and a tubular ankle 5, with seamless calf widening 6, and as far as this portion of the stocking is concerned it may be produced in a mannerheretofore proposed, as for instance, by knitting a seamless tubular web with the desired shaped toe, heel pocket, gusset and calf widening upon a machine having two parallel needle beds, which ,machine lends itself readily to this method of manufacture.

M invention consists, firstly, in knitting the eg portion of the stocking upon a machine separate from that upon which the toe,

foot, heel, and calf-portion has been produced and secondly, m a particular method of forming the welt or hem at the top of the stocking.

If'the leg ortion of the stockin is produced u on t e same machine whic is employed or producing the foot, and calf portions, the relatively slow operation incident to a machine having opposed straight needle beds and a reciprocating yarn guide is extended throughout the entire production of the stockin In carrying out my invention, therefore, I complete, upon the fashioning machine, the shaped toe, foot, heel, ankle and calf portions of the stocking, say up to the line ma:, and I then transfer the stitches of the web thus produced to the cylinder needles of a circular knitting machine upon which the seamless tubular leg web 7 can be knitted much more rapidly than upon the straight fashioning machine. Independent of this, however, and of even more impor tance is the facility afforded for making an acceptable hem or welt at the top of the leg. Ordinary stockings of the class to which my invention relates have said hem or welt formed by doubling back upon itself the seamless tubular web constituting the leg of the stocking, the inturned edge being united to the body of the web by sewing or equivalent means, which method of productlon is objectionable because it results in a seam extending around the stocking below the top of the same.

By attaching a needle dial, and its appropriate cam mechanism to the circular machine upon which the tubular leg web of the stocking is produced, in accordance with my invention, 1 am enabled to form an acceptable hem or welt at the top of the stocking in thefollowing manner. When the leg tube has been knitted to the proper length upon the cylinder needles of the machine the dial needles are put into action, not, as in an ordinary machine of this type, for producing a ribbed web, but for roducing a plain web independent of that w iich forms a continuation of the leg web of the stocking, thus as shown in Fig. 1, the continuation of the leg web 7 is shown at 8 and the independent web at 9, this double web being knitted of such a length as is necessary to produce a welt or hem of the desired depth.

The web 9 is integrally united to the leg web 7 at the bottom of the welt, various methods of accomplishing this result being available. For instance, the machineupon which the leg web and hem or welt is produced may be a double feed machine, and both feeds may supply yarn to the cylinder needles of the machine during the production of the leg web. When the point is reached at which the formation of the hem or welt is to begin,

the dial needles are brought into action and the yarn from one of the feeds while still being fed to the cylinder needles is caused to produce a setting-up course 10, Fig. 2, upon the said dial needles. The feeding of the other yarn to the cylinder needles is then discontinued and said yarn is fed to the dial needles only, the first yarn being fed to the cylinder needles only, and this method of production continues until a welt or hem of the desired width has been produced, whereupon the fabric may be pressed off of both sets of needles, and the stitches around the upper edges of the two webs 8 and 9 may beapplied to the points of an ordinary looping machine, and connected by a chain of stitches 11, as shown in Fig. 3, so as to unite the two webs and prevent raveling or run ning back of the stitches of which they are 10 composed, or, in place of thus pressing off both of the Webs, both of the yarns may be fed to the cylinder and dial needles of the machine for one or more courses, so as to produce a single web at the top of the hem or I 5 welt as shown in Fig. 4, which single web may, in order to prevent raveling or running back of the stitches of the same, be applied to the points of the looping machine in order that a chain of retaining stitches may be formed on the edge of the same, or either the double or single web may have the upper edge confined by one or more rows of over-edge stitches produced by any of the sewing machines adapted for this class of-work, and

2 5, now extensively employed in knitting mills. Instead of knittin the leg tube of the stocking with a double yarn in the manner described, the same may be knitted with a single yarn and an additional yarn may be employed when itis desired to form the hem or welt, this additional yarn being fed, first, to the needles of both the cylinder and dial in order to form the setting-up course, and then to the needles of the dial only in order 3 5 to form the separate Web 9, or the same yarn-- which forms the leg 7 and hem web 8 may be used to formthe setting-up course and the additional yarn may then be fed to the dial needles only, or, in other cases, the same 40 yarn may be used for the leg web and for both of the hem' webs, for instance, said sin le yarn may be fed firstto the cylinder an dial needles to form a setting-up course,

then to thecylinder needles for one or more 5 courses, the dial needles being out, of action;

and then to the dial needles for one or more courses, the cylinder needles being out of action, the top of the hem or weft being finished in any of the ways before described.

Whatever method of manufacture is adopted there is no seam at the bottom of the welt,

and no objectionable seam even at the top of the Welt, the stocking, so far as the top of the same is concerned, being as free from objection as an ordinary full fashioned stocking having What is termed a turned welt, and being much superior to such full fashioned stockin in that it has no seams Whatever in the bac or in the heel, foot or toc..

My invention is essentially distinct, both as concerns the stocking andthe method of producing the same, from the ordinary ribbed stocking having a welt or'hem formed by two single webs. In such stocking the 6 5 web corresponding with the web 8 of my improved stocking is formed by continuations of some of the Wales of the ribbed leg web, say the cylinder needle Wales, and the other web 9 is roduced by a continuation of the other wa es of the ribbed leg web, say the dial needle wales, there being only as many Wales in both of the single webs of the hem or welt as there are in the ribbed leg web, whereas in my improved stocking the leg web as well as the hem webs are single webs, and the wales in the hem Web 9 are additional wales. Moreover, the separate webs of the hem or welt of an ordinary ribbed stocking are not confined at the top by a course or courses of stitches produced by a separate yarn, as set forth in some of my claims.

Having thus described my invention, l1

claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A stocking having at the top of the leg a hem or welt composed of two'webs, one comprising continuations of the wales of the leg web and the other composed of additional wales, substantially as specified.

2, A stocking having at the top of the leg a hem or welt composed of two webs, one comprising continuations of the wales of the leg web and the other com osed of additional Wales, said two sets of wales being united at the top and also integrally united to the leg web, substantially as specified.

3. A stocking having at the to of the leg a hem or welt composed of two we s, one comprising continuations of the wales of the leg web, and the other composed of additional wales, said two' sets of wales being integrally united to the leg web, and provided at the top with confining stitches composed of a separate yarn, substantially as specified.

4. A stocking having at the to of theleg a hem or welt composed of two we s, one comprising continuations of the wales of the leg web and the other composed of additional wales knitted with an independent yarn, substantially as specified.

5. A stocking having at the to of the leg a hem or welt composed of two we s, one comprising continuations of the wales of the leg web and the other composed of additional wales knitted with an independent yarn but having its starting course integrally united to the leg web, substantially as specified.

6. A stocking having at the top of the leg a hem or welt composed of two webs, one comprising continuations of the Wales of the le web and the other composed of additiona wales knitted with an independent yarn, but

united to the other web at the'top of thestocking, substantially as specified.

7. A stocking having at the top of the leg a hem or welt composed of two webs, one comprising continuations of the wales of the leg web and the other com osed of additional wales knitted with an in ependent yarn, said ICC wales being integrally united to the'leg web,

.wunited to the other web at the top 10 stocking by stitches comgosed of a third yarn,

3 5 tially as speclfied. v

12. A stocking seamless as to the leg and and also united to the wales of the other web 5 hem or welt-composed of two webs,,one comprising continuations of the wales of the leg web and the other com osed of additional wales knitted with an 1n ependent yarn, bllllt of t e substantially as specifie I 9. A stocking having at the to of the leg a hem or welt composed of two We s, one comprising continuations of the wales of the leg '15 web and the other composed of additional wales knitted with anindependent yarn,.said wales being integrally united to the leg web, and also united by a third yarn to the Wales of the other. web at the top of the stocking,

2o 7 substantially as specified.

10. A, stocking having a leg of plain Web provided at the top with a hem or welt composed of two separate plies of fabric, integrally united to the leg Web at the bottom, 2 5 and provided at the top with confining stitches composed of a separate yarn, substantially as specified.

11. A stocking having a leg of plain web provided at the top with a hem or welt com- 0 posed of two separate plies of fabric knitted with independent yarns, said webs being integrally united to the leg web at the bottom,

and provided at the top with confining stitches composed. of a third foot, and provided at the top with a hem or yarn, substanwelt composed of two webs, one consisting of wales which form continuations of the leg wales, and the other consisting of independent wales, substantially as specified. I

13. A stocking seamless as to the leg and foot, and provided at the top with a hem or welt composed of two webs, one consisting of wales which form continuations of the leg wales, and the other consisting of independent wales, each of said webs being knitted with an independent yarn, substantially as specified. i

14. A stocking seamless as'to the leg and foot, and provided at the top with a hem or welt composed of two webs, one consisting of Wales which form continuations of the leg wales, and the other consisting of independent wales, said wales being provided at the top with confining stitches composed of a separate yarn, substantially as specified.

15. A stocking seamless as to the leg and foot, and provided at the top with a hem or welt composed of two webs, one consisting of wales which form continuations of the leg wales, and the other consisting of indepndent wales, each of said webs being knitted with an independent yarn and the webs being provided at the top with confining stitches 

